Flock of One
by Mantinas
Summary: Gaara is a Father with big, inmet dreams for his church which keeps him up all night. Can this mysterious young man give peace to his mind and the ambiance he always craved? Sort of a sequel to "Angel Talk". GaaLeeGaa.


Flock of One

Mantineus-Yet another project given to me from "Mysteria" by E Nomine. This time from the great scene where a man comes into the church at the end.

Disclaimer-I own nothing!

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Gaara stood before the altar, its surface covered in lovely, patterned clothe a small, wooden platform held an open Bible from which he was reading, two sets of candle sticks surrounding it along with flowers. The poor man was tired, as evident by how he carried himself; relying on his hands to keep his stooped form up.

He had not slept in many nights, as evident to anyone whom truly looked upon his face; bags were under his eyes. But no one looked at him closely. He was not amongst the Catholics that he grew up with, whom stayed and spoke with his father, a preacher. They had fun back then. It also gave his father purpose; unlike his own church here.

Gaara had the unfortunate position of speaking to those whom went to churches and treated it like an unwanted obligation. There he would stand, pouring his heart out, and no one would even look interested. And when he said his goodbyes at the door, they only rushed their goodbye, happy to leave.

Though he gave them slack, that's what Jesus wants us to do, he understood some of their actions; like his unanswered ad for the position of an Alter-Boy. He knew the press was bad, but he was not that kind of man; a man who would molest a little boy is not a man of God. But parents fear for the well being of their children.

He was about to doze off when he heard the sound of the doors opening, footfalls, and the delicate sound of two fingers gently dipping into the holy water. Gaara turned and was met with an angelic form. The man wore a green suit with a red tie. His hair was in a bowl cut, his eyebrows were big like his eyes. But what got to Gaara the most was that he seemed genuinely happy.

And then it hit him.

It was Sunday. It was Sunday and a minute into what was to be his sermon, and no one but this stranger bothered to show up! Gaara sighed, but his mood changed after looking at the stranger.

Gaara lifted his arms up and proudly, albeit tiredly, stated "Welcome!".

"Thank you, Father." The man said. He scanned the room and asked: "Am I late?"

Gaara shook his head forlornly. "No, no you are not late, my son. No one bothered to show up."

"Oh," The man said, sounding genuinely sad. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't be." Gaara said. "It is not I that they are missing out on."

The man nodded. They were silent for a minute when the man's head jolted out of realization.

"Where are my manners?" He asked. "I'm Lee. I'm new here."

Lee had his hand outstretched, Gaara took it in good faith.

"It's nice to meet you, Lee." Gaara said. "I am Father Gaara."

From there, they continued talking.

"My father raised me to be Catholic." Lee said. "I loved going to church. It was pleasant. But, I must confess, there was another reason I went."

"And what was that, my son?" Gaara asked happily, he had someone to talk to about things of the faith. Something he wanted for so long.

Lee chuckled slightly, a small smile graced his lips. "There was this boy, you see, same age as me; red hair, big grin that, to me, rivaled the sun. He was the preacher's son." He sighed. "I've tried so many times to talk with him, but he was a wall flower; he liked to be behind everything instead of out in the open."

"What were your feelings toward this boy?"

Lee let out a small chuckle. "In the beginning it was fascination, but then it became an obsession; I wanted to talk to him so bad; he seemed a little lonely and left out. But then, after a time, it became love-though one-sided; he never knew I existed."

Lee lowered his head, his eyes laid on the floor before his feet. He then lifted his head slightly and looked into the tired eyes of his new friend.

"I'm talking about you, you know?"

Gaara was taken aback by this revelation. For one, he never saw Lee in his life. Yet here he was, confessing to him about a deep rooted love. A love that God had made, thus not evil.

"I'm flattered…"

Lee cut him off. "It's funny, you know. I've been watching you from a far in church, I then can't find you, and of late…Doing the same thing, only a little differently."

Lee stood up. "Do not Despair, Father. If anything, I'll be your flock. And I hope you forgive me for what I'm about to do."

Lee leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "I love you," was whispered into the red head's ear and Lee quickly walked towards the doors of the church. Gaara, dumbfounded, touched the spot where Lee kissed him. It was not unpleasant. In fact, he rather thought it was nice.

He regained himself and quickly followed after Lee, hoping to make him stay a little while longer. He pushed open the doors and found Lee standing in the courtyard, his arms outstretched towards heaven, two large, white eagle wings erupted from his back…And then he was gone.

Gaara shook his head, rubbed his eyes, and still tried to comprehend what he saw. He chalked it up on being tired, but then a large, white feather tumbled down from the sky and landed at his feet. Gaara stooped down and picked it up. He examined it at eye level and was dumbfounded once more. It did not look like any bird feather you would see around the area.

But he did not worry about it much. Once he had it at almost arms length, he felt calm. Like the whole world was void of weight and he sighed. He turned around, holding onto the feather, and walked back into his church.

Somehow he knew he was going to sleep well tonight.

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End file.
